Richard Thompson at the Homer (NY) Center For The Arts 5/23.
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Tedeschi/Trucks Band at Red Rocks a couple of weeks ago. First time seeing a show there and it was a good one. I didn’t do a head count but they have at least 10 or 12 people in the band and they put on a great show. Derek has matured beautifully as a guitar player since his days as a child prodigy and then with the ABB. And I didn’t realize before just how good a singer and guitar player Susan is. My wife and I were supposed to see Lucinda Williams opening for Big Thief a couple of days later at RR. The show was delayed a couple of hours due to rain and lightning in the area (quite a light show!). We were soaked and cold after waiting in line for well over an hour and finally decided to leave before they eventually let everyone in. Big time bummer. Up next is Iris Dement at the tiny Kate Theater in Old Saybrook CT in a couple of weeks. Have seen Iris five or six times, including one (or two maybe?) with John Prine. She’s an all-timer. |
Well fellas, did I see a great one last night! Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper, doing a set as a trio on the stage at Mississippi Studios in Portland Oregon. Kelly and Brennen playing acoustic guitars, Melissa an upright bass almost as big as herself, and all three singing solo and in perfect 3-part harmony. And I mean per-fect! I’ve been a fan of Kelly for decades, and just recently discovered Brennen (her 2022 album Obsessed With The West is a Country Swing project, produced by Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel, who serve as her backing band. This Year’s Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet was produced by Chris Scruggs, and features a guest appearance by Marty Stuart on mandolin. Both are available on both LP and CD). Melissa I had not yet known about. All three have roots in the South and Midwest, and I believe crossed paths in---where else?---Austin Texas, Texas. The set was the three of them each singing a song of their own composition, one after the other. Mississippi Studios is an excellent sounding room (capacity 250), as is the Studios’ sound system and the ears of the mixing engineer; not too loud, not too bright or boomy (though the bottom string of the bass was vibrating the walls of the room pretty strongly). Their was lots of humour, and great stories about the origins of each song. Plus, the sight of three chicks in cowboy hats and boots was pretty hot 😉 . They are making their way across the U.S.A., so catch them if you can. Last night tickets were only twenty bucks, less than I paid for a double shot of Johnnie Walker Black! |
@rpeluso: As is Jackson, whom I have somehow never heard live. Gotta do that before he or I die. Iris is very charming live, with lots of self-deprecating humour. Her piano playing is somewhat reminiscent of that of Randy Newman, with those New Orleans chord voicings. And my gawd, what a voice! Monday night is Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper at Mississippi Studios. Hmm, all chicks.😉 Speaking of which, this time Iris had two accompanying musicians along; a redhead playing a beautiful Gretsch 5120 plugged into a Fender Deluxe Reverb---great tone!, and another young woman playing an electric upright bass And I couldn’t help but noticed that the audience was about 3/4 female. I’m not complaining.😉 |
Iris DeMent tonight at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR. She closed the show with this fantastic song:
https://youtu.be/FikZwgj89HI?t=1
Harmony vocal sung by Emmylou Harris, dobro played by Jerry Douglas.
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@carlsbad2 excited…going to see Mr. Isaak this Thurs. at the Uptown in Napa. One of my favorites since the 90’s. |
Just finished 17 days on a bicycle with the last week being an organized ride with concerts every night. I intended to see 5 of them but long days and heat reduced that to 3, and one of those was cancelled. Spin Doctors sounded ok and it was fun to hear their hits. Lynyrd Skynyrd put on a great show with singing mostly by Johnny Van Zant, three guitars (including Rick Medlocke of Blackfoot, Mark "Sparky" Matejka, and Damon Johnson of Thin Lizzy and Alice Cooper), Pete Keys on keyboards and drumming by Michael Cartellone (Damn Yankees). The back up singing by Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle was also solid. They played all the favorites and included heartfelt tributes to USA, our military, police, first responders, and all the former band members including recently passed Gary Rossington. The encore of course was Free Bird. Unfortunately, the Bush concert was cancelled at the last minute due to a storm with high winds.
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@rpeluso - I've been experiencing the same thing; so many shows this year that I would have jumped on tickets immediately in another time, I'm just passing on now. Just too wary of a lot of people packed together inside. And I turned 70 last year, so that might be a factor as well.... Not long ago, I'd be good for 30-40 gigs per year. |
As sad as this seems, I've come to a realization that I might not be attending many/any live shows again. This from someone who lived for this activity. But the last few years, I have skipped sooo many, including last night, a Malpass Brothers show. Maybe its because I'm old, maybe its because I don't enjoy going alone much any longer, maybe its because I have become accustomed to staying ut the last few years with the viral pandemic. The last 10 or 15 shows for which I have had tickets, I mostly skipped. At last the artists received my ticket proceeds? |
Paul McCartney last week (06/16) in New Jersey, MetLife stadium. Springsteen and Bon Jovi showed up to pay their respects to Paul as he turned 80 last Saturday. More than a concert, this was a spiritual event (for me at least). I had never seen the Beatles and am a huge fan. My expectations were muted as hey, the guy is 80 years old. Best and most fun concert that I can remember. I felt like a teenager. I'm keeping my MetLife green security wristband :-). Next week is Steely Dan.
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Last night - Thursday 6/16/2022 - Steely Dan - Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati Took my 18 year old son to see Steely Dan (Donald Fagen and Co.). My son has somehow become a big fan and says it's his favorite band. Can't fault him for that! We bought tickets day of show through Stubhub and got GREAT seats, about 10 rows from the front, center section, and got them for about 30% less than face value. Show was good, not great. I saw Steely Dan and their last summer tour before Walter passed away (RIP Walter Becker) and this show was not as good. Fagen has aged a bit more, the sound system had some glitches, and the song selection was good, but missed several of our favorites. Also, opening was Snarky Puppy. They were better and more entertaining than I expected. However, last go around, Steve Winwood opened and was fantastic. So, all in all, glad to spend a hot summer night outside with the crowd listening to good music. Having my son there was the best part of the experience... |
Hey jeroboam! Um, isn’t Grimaud’s artistry something one hears? More generally, I’ve always thought that if the experience of music is improved by the visuals, the music itself is lacking. Seems to me paying attention to what you’re seeing is a way of not paying attention to what you’re hearing. Idiosyncratic view, I know. |
Last that anyone heard of was King Crimson at Anthem in DC back in September. This is rumored to have been their last ever US performance. It was off the charts. No words to describe fully. We were right in the sweet spot. CD of the performance being issued in a couple weeks. Can preorder on Amazon. Check it out.
Masks and proof of vaccination was required.
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Florida Orchestra, a week ago, playing Auerbach's Icarus, Prokofiev second violin concerto (Hadelich) and Pictures at an Exhibition. Sat in about the 8th row -- closer than I like, but not too too close. Great to hear live music again. The Auerbach was very interesting and made me want to hear it again. Hadelich is as good as they get and that's a fatastically beautifyul concerto. I became familiar with it from a Connoisseurs recording at least 40 years ago, Syeryng performance. And lo and behold, Hadelich plays an ex-Szeryng Guaraneri. May be I just heard it on teh very same instrument!!! And Pictures is Pictures: virtuosic and powerful music, showcasing the entire orchstral palette in the Ravel transcription. The Florida Orchstra is actually a quite fine ensemble -- and this coming from someone who spend their formative orchestra going years hearing Solti, Giulini and many others conduct the CSO..
I gotta say, this concert reminded me just how crappy my actually pretty good but fairly modest system is from the standpoint of The Absolute Sound. In fact, on that measure, lets face it, all of our systems, including super-megabucks ones, suck by that standard, at least as far as orchstral music is concerned. It's often remarked that real musicians are rarely audiophiles. That's why.
Richard |
